Yes, dear friends, this morning we awoke to our first frost of the season here in our little corner of Somerset! I knew that it was cold when our cat Eddie shot in from outside and immediately jumped up on top of the kitchen radiator, having been outside since having breakfast at the ungodly early hour of 5 am when he and Maisy are fed by Hubby.

Acer Tree in Back Garden 13th November (c) Sherri Matthews 2013

Yet it wasn’t long before the sun was shining, giving rise to one of those lovely, crisp November mornings as the sunlight bathed the golden leaves still shining on our Acer Tree.

Even the windows of my summerhouse were iced up but I can hardly believe it, my geraniums are still out! This is the middle of November after all. Just shows how mild it has been for this time of year, up until today.

Surely after this first frost this will be the end of them now. I have given up trying to keep geraniums over the winter – I’ve housed them in a greenhouse, the shed and garage, even inside my summerhouse, wrapping them up in bubble paper, special garden wool brought from the garden centre, plastic bags, you name it, but they never survive. They might keep better inside over winter but I don’t have the room.

In California I would leave my geraniums alone and they would die off, looking like dead pieces of wood sticking out of the pot by mid-winter.

Then miraculously, by spring, little shoots would appear, fresh and green and lo and behold, I would have bigger and better geraniums, just like that! Not here though, far too cold.

My mum has taken some cuttings for me this year and will keep them for me so I will let you know next year how they do!

Well, I digress. This post is supposed to be about me letting you all know that I have been very blessed to have been given not one, not two but three awards recently!

I am always so humbled to receive an award, to know that someone is thinking of me and recognising my blog in this way is always truly uplifting and inspiring and always makes my day.

The only problem is that I am so blessed with such a wonderful, loving community, that is all of you, and so thankful for each and every one of you that it’s been really hard to know who to give these awards to! I also know that some of you don’t ‘do’ awards but I don’t want to leave anybody out!

So, with all that said I’ll do the best I can and I’ll kick off the celebrations by spreading the happy news that I have very kindly been nominated for One Lovely Blog Award by my lovely friend Pat from Plain Talk and Ordinary Wisdom.

Pat’s blog is best summed up in her own words which welcome you to her blog – ‘Warming ‘kitchen table’ stories to inspire and warm your heart’. By the time I have finished reading her stories I really do feel as if I have been sitting with her around her kitchen table in her lovely home in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Many thanks Pat for this lovely award!

One Lovely Blog Award

My nominees for this award are lovely blogging friends that I’ve met fairly recently whose blogs have greatly inspired and blessed me very much. Please do visit them. I’m so happy that we met and for the wonderful conversations which I hope will continue for a long time to come:

(PS Please know that there are no rules for this award, so please accept it and display it proudly on your blogs (if you wish to of course!). You deserve it 🙂 )

As if this wasn’t enough, my wonderful friend Steven over at Moods A Plenty then nominated me for The Versatile Blogger Award. Steven displays his amazing art work on his blog as well as his very cleverly written posts. He is funny, clever, intelligent and I love the banter that we share. He writes with a dry, witty sense of humour which belies the reality of his struggle with bipolar disorder. Thank you so much Steven for thinking of me!

The Versatile Blogger Award

With this award, I have nominated bloggers new to me who write about ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) and their personal stories and family experiences, this being something very precious to my heart as you all know. I admire them all greatly:

Last, but certainly not least, I was very pleasantly surprised to receive the Dragon’s Loyalty Award from Robin over at Playful Kittyher new and ever-growing blog all about, well, cats! It is good to know that she reads my blog even though I don’t write about cats all the time! Thank you very much Robin for thinking of me, I really appreciate it, and it is such a lovely, colourful award too!

Dragon’s Loyalty Award

The criteria I picked for this award was simple – it speaks for itself. Yes, I know I’m gushy but you all know me well enough by now to know that I mean it and besides, I just wanted to say thank you all so much for being part of my little blogworld here in my cyber summerhouse.

As before, I do invite all of you, my dear friends to please accept this award with love from me, including all I previously nominated in September (see One Lovely Blog Award ) and I would like to make special mention to these bloggers, friends, who are every bit as inspirational and lovely to me:

One last bit. (You didn’t think there wasn’t a catch did you?) For both the Dragon’s Loyalty Award and The Versatile Award there are few rules:

1. Firstly, display the Award on your site (see sidebar!) You earned it and you deserve it!

2. Link back to the person who gave you the Award (once again, many thanks Robin and Steven!) in your acceptance post;

3. Nominate 15 well deserving bloggers for the Award (done that) and then let them know the wonderful news by sending them a message on their site (about to do that!);

4. List 7 interesting facts about yourself – see below.

So all that remains for me to do is to complete rule number 4. I find this the hardest, it’s the same when someone asks me what I would like for my birthday or Christmas. For some reason I can think of ideas all year long but when I’m put on the spot I’m completely useless at coming up with anything.

My plan was to get this post out this morning (ha, so what’s new pussy cat?) but I had to abandon all ideas as time marched on as I had to take Aspie daughter food shopping and then to an appointment and myriad other things cropped up, as they do, (you and me both right?) so my earlier comments about a bright, sunny and crisp morning are slightly redundant (it is now evening) but hey, that’s the way the cookie crumbles around here.

Anyway, I’ll shut up now. Here are my 7 ‘interesting’ facts:

1. I once met Clint Eastwood while horse riding in the Hollywood Hills. He tipped his hat at me and said ‘Howdy Miss’ (I was 19). I just about fell off my horse. I should also mention that nobody in my family believes me.

2. I hate shopping for clothes. I never try anything on. When I do try them on at home I end up returning them all. Then I say I haven’t got a thing to wear…drives my Hubby mad.

3. I will eat just about anything except rhubarb and desicated coconut. Can’t stand them. I blame this on school dinners, even though I actually liked everything else.

4. The first time I experienced an earthquake I was 7 floors up in an office building on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles and from my window I could see the surrounding buildings swaying as they rolled with the shocks. I’ve never been so scared in all my life.

5. When I was 14 my then best friend and I played a flute duet as part of a musical presentation at our school. Sir Bobby Robson, then captain of Ipswich Football Team, was sitting in the front row and shook our hands afterwards. My friend, who was a huge fan, almost fainted.

6. My favourite drink, given half a chance, is a glass of chilled bubbly 🙂

7. Why does someone work in a pet shop yet refuse to handle frozen mice when you go in to buy one for your pet snake? Isn’t that their job? (Sorry, that’s not very interesting or about me, but just had to rant…watch this space)

That’s it folks! Now I’m going to bring you all the happy news! Congratulations and many thanks to you all.

I wouldn’t be here without you 🙂

Share this:

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

About Sherri Matthews

While writing to publication of her memoir, 'Stranger in a White Dress', Sherri has been published in national magazines and a variety of anthologies in memoir, essays, articles, poetry and flash fiction. Sherri gardens, walks and takes endless photos, the better ones she shares on her blog, along with articles about travel, Asperger's Syndrome and her life as a Brit Mum raising her family in California for 17 years. Today, Sherri lives in England with her husband, Aspie youngest and their pet menagerie, fondly known as 'Animal Farm.'

91 Responses to First Frost Melts in the Heat of Dragon’s Loyalty Award!

Congratulations on all your awards, Sherri! They are definitely well-deserved. I fall into the category of not-doing awards partly because I don’t really understand them. Where do they come from?

We had a frost this morning too but not the first of the season. I love it. I was cycling to school on my bakfiets and I just love the feeling of the cold, crisp air against my face. I am really enjoying the weather here.

Many thanks Rachel! No problem. To be honest, I’m not sure myself where they are from. I think they were originally started as a way to help new bloggers meet one another. I just wanted to acknowledge your blog as I love visiting you there 🙂

Yes, it is really nice isn’t it with the cool air and being able to wrap up but not too much.. I can’t stand getting hot in the shops but then you know how I feel about shopping in general…I try to avoid it as much as possible!

I don’t know how my hubby does it but he is a morning person, which I definitely am not!!!

You deserved the award, Sherri. You’ve been very supportive and friendly to me and my blog, and that’s not even mentioning the monster that’s coming together here! You’re going to have extend your summerhouse before long with all these trophies!

Interesting set of facts. Number 2 – my kind of woman! I’d rather that than 2 hour stays in clothes shops. How I hate standing around by the changing rooms, looking a bit of a herbert. I look sinister enough anyway, I don’t need to be lurking around where young women are getting changed. Oh and I can’t bear rhubarb either. Mum used to make us rhubarb crumble when we were kids and it never exactly captivated me.

And what an honour to be called a loyal old dragon by way of an award! I’m so chuffed, thanks very much! Two awards in one week, I just hope it doesn’t go to my head. 😉

Ha Ha! Thanks Steven, I really do appreciate that but I think I will have to start hiding them 😉

You did make me laugh, the vision I have of you ‘lurking about’ changing rooms, lol! It reminds me of the night I met my husband. He told me that he would be inside waiting for me at the restaurant so that he wouldn’t be seen ‘lurking about’ the car park looking sinister! You can just imagine what I thought!!!

Just don’t know what it is about rhubarb, I just can’t stand it! I was just the same when my mum or granny would make a crumble with it!

You deserve all your awards and you are definitely not old…just wait until you get to my age 😉

I’m signing off blogland now, phew, what a day, catch up with you later and many congratulations once again 🙂

Thanks so much, Sherri. You are a sweetie to include me and yes, I am one of those bloggers who doesn’t accept awards. I do however have a Razzle Dazzle shelf, where I occasionally store my shiny gifts. Thanks again, new friend.

Congratulations Sherri on your awards — they’re so well deserved and enjoy reading your adventures. Thank you so much for the mention of my kitchen table stories at “Plain Talk and Ordinary Wisdom” and for the award.

It means a lot to me, my friend, to visit with you and share a little piece of our worlds. You’re the best! 🙂

Ahh, thanks so much Pat! Being able to swop stories and adventures with you from across the sea is something I cherish and I hope that many others will head over your way to sit with you around your ol’ kitchen table to do the same 🙂

Wow Sherri, you had your first frost of the season this morning and last night, here in Charlotte, we had our first snow. Of course it only lasted for about 1/2 hour, but it was beautiful. Our temperature yesterday went from 67 to 24 degrees. It’s cold and I don’t like it one bit! Of course, typical in the South, it’s going to be near 70 by Sunday.

Congratulations on all of your awards! If anyone deserves them, it’s you! I love reading your posts and as I’ve said several times, I can’t wait to get my hands on your memoir. 🙂 Thank you for my award, it’s so kind of you! I especially love the awards with no homework, so thanks for that! 🙂 I can’t wait to check out the other blogs.

I loved reading your list of interesting facts. I believe you about Clint Eastwood. That is so cool! I would have definitely fallen off the horse. 🙂 Stay warm!

Ha Ha! Thanks so much Jill for your lovely sentiments and for believing me about Clint Eastwood! I KNOW it was him 🙂 I was staring at him, mouth wide open looking like a complete idiot!!!

Wow, that is a sudden drop in temperature and snow too! I love the first snowfall of the season, everything really does look so beautiful. We are in for more frost so I think that winter has really arrived but whether or not we get snow here this year remains to be seen!

No, I don’t still play sadly. I had a silver one once upon a time which I kept in a box with a silk lining (it came from a shop in London and was second hand) but when I was 19 I sold it when I needed money for airfare. Going to America to be with my then boyfriend was more important than keeping this beautiful heirloom, hey no.

That’s wonderful that you play, sounds like you will have to start practicing again! Hope it all comes back to you…I used to love playing mine and I regret not keeping up with it.

Congratulations Sherri! You deserve every award that you receive. I wish that I could stay as composed and as well written as you are… even when everyday life goes completely bonkers. Unfortunately, I’m one of those bloggers who doesn’t accept awards. But, thank you very much for thinking of me. You’re the greatest!

Ahh, you are most welcome Theresa, and thank you so much for your lovely words, although I think I’m far from composed when I write quite a bit of the time…that’s why I go off the deep end at times I think!!! I’m just so very grateful that you and everyone else here takes the time to read my posts, I never, ever take that for granted 🙂

As I wrote on your blog, it’s no problem at all about the award, I fully understand, but I just wanted you to know how much I enjoy your beautiful photographs on your blog and the way you always find the perfect poem or prose or quote to accompany them. I hope that others here will come over and see what they have been missing 🙂

Sherri! Thank you so much for the nomination! I was reading along, enjoying your blog, loving the photo of your beautiful tree, feeling you about the geraniums (mine die too) and there’s my blog among your nominees. What a lovely surprise. It looks like we have quite a bit in common. Thanks so much for stopping by God, autism, and me. 🙂
Lilka

Hello Lilka! I have just left a note on your God, Autism and Me blog as well as visiting your B is for Blessed blog, both of which I find truly inspiring and lovely. You are so very welcome for the nomination and many congratulations once again. As I said in my note, I really look forward to reading more from you and I hope you will visit me here at my summerhouse again soon. Have a lovely day 🙂

Congratulations, Sherri! Many bloggers, like myself; blog, answer comments and check the blogs of people they follow when they have time. What I’ve noticed with you is that you play an active role developing your community, staying in contact and showing real interest in what others write. These awards are well and truly deserved.

Sherri, congratulations on your awards! You really deserve them all! You are a very special and absolutely lovely person. I am glad we got to know each other through our blogs. Thanks for the nomination. It means a lot to me 🙂

Congrats on your award, Sherri, and thank you so much for the nomination. I feel VERY honored, and so thankful we’ve met. The UK is one of the top places I want to visit … so maybe one of these days we’ll get to meet in person!

Well deserved awards Sherri, congratulations! As for fact number two, I can completely relate! I would argue that there is nothing more maddening and frustrating than shopping for women’s clothes. You could be a small in one store and a large in another store. One style of pants that you bought one year mysteriously doesn’t fit when you go back to purchase them a year later. I think it’s a trick to just make us try on everything in the store! Also, thank you so much for your lovely nomination! I’m so glad that Tracy could bring us together. I’ve enjoyed the honesty and humor of your posts, it makes it feel as if you’re good friends with your readers and we’ve known you for a long time!

Thanks so much Heather, and you are very welcome, congratulations right back to you too 🙂

Glad to know that I’m not the only one with this shopping problem, you are so right, I don’t understand it either! There is no rhyme or reason to it and I try to avoid it as much as possible!

Yes, Tracy has brought quite a few of us together and I’m so grateful to her and to Denise who I met Tracy through! I love this blogging community and I value you all as friends. It’s great to know that you enjoy reading my posts and that we can connect with one another in this way…as Tracy says, ‘building bridges’ which is just what she is achieving for us! I value you all as lovely friends 🙂

Oh, Sherri, your posts are so deserving of these awards. Congratulations! I am so glad I’m getting to know you and your writing. You’re very talented.
You are also very thoughtful, and I’m honored you thought of my blog for the One Lovely Blog award. However, about six months ago I stopped accepting awards when I received three in the same month and realized how much more important it was for others who were getting started.
You have an openness and a beautiful vitality in your writing, and your support and encouragement will inspire other writers.

Ahh, thank you so much Marylin, you have such a wonderful way of expressing yourself, but then you are a very talented writer 🙂 Your encouragement and support of my writing has greatly inspired me and I am so grateful. As has your writing which I hope others here who don’t already follow your blog will come over to visit and read. If I can be half as much an inspiration to others through my writing as you are then I will be very happy indeed 🙂

I fully understand about the award but I did just want you to know how much I am enjoying getting to know you too and also how much I love your wonderful blog and reading your letters to your dear mom.

Our geraniums are still out and the acer hasn’t even started turning yet but I was scraping ice off the car yesterday morning!
You have a great blog and I enjoy reading all your posts – I don’t fully understand the award thing, to be honest – I’d read you anyway!

No problem about the award Jenny, I did just want to say how much I love reading your blog, you always bring a smile to my face as well as teaching me many interesting facts and just reading your ‘slice of life’ stories which are always absolutely delightful and as I’ve said before and I’ll keep saying it, I’m soooo happy we met through Spamgate 🙂 I love our conversations and the community we share here, you are a star.

It is strange, the weather, isn’t it? We are in for a heavy frost here tonight apparantly so you might be scraping ice off your car tomorrow too. I wonder if we will get snow this year? I wonder how long our geraniums will last? I’ve never known them last so long, have you? But then, spring was reallly late this year.

Thanks again Jenny, my blog wouldn’t be the same without you and your visits, in fact, I count on them (no pressure then…!!!) 🙂

Well, likewise Sherri! Bless you for your kind words. I meant to say – I hate trying clothes on too – thank goodness for on-line shopping, I say. And I can sooo identify with your friend who nearly fainted when she met Bobby Robson. I felt the same when we met Peter Osgood and he signed Son’s programme!

Congratulations on the many awards. Those are just testaments of the many people you inspire with your words. 🙂
I suddenly miss my grandma’s garden when I read this, she had a yard full of plants and trees and I remember she used to make me wipe the dust away from her huge elephant ears plants. She had pots of them! And she also brushed them with egg white so they would shine. Needless to say she was crazy about gardening.
Thank you Sherri for the wonderful award. I appreciate it much. 🙂

p. s.
I am so glad that I am not the only woman who hates shopping for clothes!

Thank you so much Jhanis, and congratulations to you too, you deserve it!
Your grandma’s garden sounds delightful, especially the elephant ears plants! I have never heard of brusing them with egg white but it makes sense 🙂
Yes, glad I’m not the only one too, I used to think there was something wrong with me 🙂

Congratulations on your awards, Sherri.
I bring my geraniums indoors for the winter. I don’t have many, so they fit on the kitchen windowsill. As for clothes shopping, I’m exactly like you in that respect. I just cannot be bothered to try anything on and I don’t think they make clothes to fit my shape anyway! 🙂

Thanks so much Lee, and likewise, right back to you, congratulations on your award 🙂

Bringing your geraniums indoors is the only way to keep them until the spring but I don’t have room on my windowsill. I’m hoping that the cuttings my mum took will survive so that I will have them for next year!

I really do think that they make clothes a strange shape these days, and we are made to feel that it is us that has the strange shape. In fact, I’m convinced of it… 🙂

Thank you Sherri, I’m touched. I admire you handling three blog awards all at once—it takes me an eternity to do a link, which is one reason I fight shy of accepting awards. I’ll certainly stick the badge on my blog and link back to you though. If anyone deserves these wards you do 🙂

I started to draft a reply blog yesterday and left it at the point where I needed to start adding links. It’s so fiddly! And if you don’t save each time you lose the lot. Okay, with a clear head and a few hours head of me I’ll get it done 🙂

Thank you so much for the award and thinking about me! I’m also happy with all the links you posted to all these interesting blogs. Will certainly check them out. BTW, I also love the Acer Tree picture! The light and colors are fantastic, very peaceful.

You definitely deserve all the awards you’ve been receiving and I’m positive there will be more! 🙂

Thanks so much for your kind words and also for your compliment of my photo of the acer tree. My cat Eddie often likes to sleep on the bench when the sun is out but he was nowhere to be seen when I took this shot! Typical 🙂

Sherri, oh my goodness! Thank you for brightening my day by nominating me for the One Lovely Blog award. As soon as I figure out how to display it, I will do so proudly 🙂 I’m not very good at putting myself ‘out there’, so I truly appreciate the interest and most especially your kindness. You’ve been so supportive and welcoming. I always relish your posts, which are a delight to read as much as they are a delight to SEE…love your photos, your humor and your always bright outlook on life. Sending you a virtual {HUG}!

Ahh, you are so very welcome and likewise, I always look forward to not only reading your posts but also to your visits here at my summerhouse! You are always so encouraging and I love your insights and thoughts. Congratulations once again, and enjoy this richly deserved award 🙂 Virtual hug right back at ya 🙂

Sherri, it seem that there are some rules for the One Lovely Blog award: The Rules for One Lovely Blog Award:

Thank the person who nominated you and link back to them in your post.
Share seven possibly unknown things about yourself.
Nominate fifteen or so bloggers you admire. (That’s gonna be hard since there are so many excellent bloggers in the blogosphere.)

Eddie has the right idea. I would love to curl up on the radiator to stay warm, but I don’t fit. I hope your mum can save the geraniums. Congrats on all the awards and thanks for the nomination. I’m honored. And I totally believe you about Clint. didn’t know you had a pet snake. when I was a kid I went to a friends house to watch him feed his snake. I didn’t know what that meant. I do now. I was a sensitive child (still am) and my mom was quite unhappy with my friend. Nature is wonderful, beautiful, and cruel.

Ha Ha! Yes, I know what you mean, I would love to be able to do that too!

Thanks for believing me about Clint – my kids think I just ‘thought’ it was him as it couldn’t possibly have been him riding on a horse up in the Hollywood Hills (oh really?). It’s become a family joke but I think that deep down they do believe me really 🙂

The snake is my daughter’s, it is a corn snake (so small and not a ‘squeezer’) called Charles P Snake (Charlie for short!) She had to work on me for years before I would allow her to have one but she is an adult now so takes full care of it as I couldn’t bear it. He lives in a vivarium in her room.

Like you, she used to go to a friend’s house who had a snake when she was a little girl and she was evermore fascinated!!! I don’t like to think of the feeding part….

Hi Sherri- you have developed quite a following! Congratulations on your awards and I am amazed that you know so many bloggers! Slowly, but surely I have started following more people- but I know if I’m too wrapped up I won’t have time to do my daily post!

Sorry to hear that winter is coming…. it is playing tricks on us here- but I am sure that eventually I will have to find our coats- but light jackets and sweaters will do for now! Enjoy your weekend.

Congratulations on all the awards Sherri. You know I’m fairly new to your blog, but so far I’ve found every post has taken me on a journey that has been interesting, evocative and thought-provoking, so I don’t doubt you deserve them. And thank you for thinking of me and passing on the love!

Hi Sherri, I officially accept my One Lovely Blog Award with much love and gratitude. Thank you for your kind words and support. I will make my nominations in December and let you know when I have done so.x